Comics Empire

Archie, Still 17, Just Marked His 50th Birthday

December 15, 1991|By Jim Bullard, Scripps Howard News Service.

News flash! Dick Clark is not America`s oldest teenager. Archie is.

Archie, that orange-haired, freckle-faced, 17-year-old comic-book star, is 50 years old this month and going strong. The character and his supporting cast have built a comics empire. Archie Comics Publications is No. 3 among comic-book producers, trailing only DC and Marvel.

Although few comic-book collectors take collecting the various Archie titles seriously, the teen`s first appearance in Pep Comics No. 22 is rated by the Official Overstreet Comic Book Price Guide as being worth $2,700 in mint/ near mint condition.

Archie`s stock is rising rapidly too. Consider that in 1976 Overstreet rated that same comic as being worth $50. In 1987 the price was $1,190.

Archie was the brainchild of publisher John Goldwater, who loosely based the character on the Henry Aldrich radio show.

But the world of Archie grew out of the mind and experiences of artist Bob Montana. His widow, Peg Bertholet, said Montana derived many of the characters from his own life.

Weatherbee, the principal of Archie`s beloved Riverdale High, was inspired by Montana`s high school principal who ``told him that if he didn`t stop drawing he`d never get anywhere in the world.``

Among the others: Jughead is said to be his schoolmate Skinny Lenaham, although Montana once said the character was created ``on the drawing board. I never knew him.`` Betty was a girl Montana dated, and Veronica was film star Veronica Lake.

Montana died of a heart attack in 1975. He was 54.

Archie`s world has undergone many surface changes over the years, in various titles, but remains largely unchanged since its inception. Jughead still wears his weird hat, Archie is still torn between Betty and Veronica, and they still attend Riverdale High.

The various Archie titles have had only minor cosmetic changes over the years. In the `50s, Archie wore a letterman`s sweater and tried out the Hula Hoop. In the `60s, the gang poked fun at hippie looks and desires, and in the `70s, they did the hustle at teen discos in bell-bottom jeans. These days, Jughead has a VCR, Moose is dyslexic and Archie wears Rollerblades.

The Archie characters have invaded other media as well, including TV and pop music.

Ron Dante and Toni Wine recorded ``Sugar, Sugar`` in 1969 under The Archies name. The song, which displaced the Rolling Stones` ``Honky-tonk Women`` in the No. 1 spot, defined bubble-gum rock.

The series has seen cartoon life, was brought to life by actors in a 1990 TV movie, and some say helped inspire ``The Many Loves of Dobie Gillis.``